The London house now the Russian House

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It is not a situation that Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea Football Club, is used to - being outbid for a coveted property.

But that is apparently what has happened in the scramble to buy 15a Kensington Palace Gardens, one of London's most desirable properties.

The mysterious bidder who offered £41 million ($A105 million) for the property, which stands next door to Kensington Palace, was identified on Monday as a fellow countryman, Leonard Blavatnik.

The Russian oil baron outbid a string of wealthy individuals - including Mr Abramovich and the Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal - to buy his new home.

Designed by James Knowles in 1854, it has 10 bedrooms, nine bathrooms, four reception rooms and staff accommodation. Previously owned by both the Iraqi and the Russian governments, it had been in disrepair but has been restored and refurbished.

So great is the value of property in Kensington Palace Gardens that the street has earned the nickname "Billionaires' Row". Some of the wealthy individuals with a home on the tree-lined road include the Sultan of Brunei.

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A recent poll by Knight Frank nominated Kensington Palace Gardens, laid out in 1843, as the capital's most exclusive address, ahead of other affluent areas, including Eaton Square and Mayfair's Albany.